Future bright for Toppmöller's Georgia

Klaus Toppmöller is looking to a bright future after his youthful Georgia surprisingly beat Scotland in their Group B UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifier on Wednesday.

Regulars out
With Levan Kobiashvili, Kakha Kaladze, Georgi Demetradze, Otar Khizaneishvili, Levan Tskitishvili and Zaali Eliava all missing, Toppmöller turned to youth against the group leaders and his young charges did not disappoint. Sixteen-year-old Levan Kenia started in central midfield, with 17-year-old striker Levan Mchedlidze up front and 17-year-old Georgi Makaridze in goal and all showed enough to suggest the country’s footballing future is in safe hands.

'Simply stunning'
Empoli FC striker Mchedlidze, who had only made his international debut four days previously against Italy, opened the scoring on 16 minutes, and Makaridze was able to keep Scotland at bay until David Siradze made the game safe with Georgia's second mid-way through the second half. "The three teenagers were simply stunning," Toppmöller said. "Kenia was one of the best, and Mchedlidze scored the first goal. The goalkeeper Makaridze was confident despite his age, but I would also like to single out centre-backs Zurab Khizanishvili and Malkhaz Asatiani. [Scotland manager] Alex McLeish congratulated us on our victory, saying we had played fantastic football."

'The future'
FC Schalke 04 playmaker Kobiashvili was equally impressed. "Georgia played an excellent match thanks to a great performance by Asatiani and excellent contributions from youngsters such as Kenia and Mchedlidze," he said. "These boys carried the load in the absence of most of our key players. They are the future of the team."

Arveladze praise
Georgia's all-time top scorer Shota Arveladze retired from international football earlier this year and was delighted to see a young striker pick up from where he left off. "I really liked young Mchedlidze," Arveladze said. "He is strong, technically gifted and he played well with his partner David Siradze. I think following my international retirement the national team now has another striker that can make the fans happy with his goals."

'Big numbers'
Celebrations spilled over to a packed Shota Rustaveli Avenue in the centre of Tbilisi and Toppmöller was quick to praise the support his side had received. "We must devote this victory to our fans," he said. "Even though Georgia have missed the chance to qualify for the European Championship, they turned out in big numbers to support us. I think we recorded a very decent victory."